Lisa McGuire stands near her former walkway on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, as she describes a fire that engulfed her home, killing her two dogs, in a Prichard, Ala., neighborhood with a history of severe water loss. When a neighbor called her about the fire, she said she rushed home to find firefighters with an empty hose attached to a hydrant. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
PRICHARD, Ala. (AP) — Water bubbles up in streets, pooling in neighborhoods for weeks or months. Homes burn to the ground if firefighters can’t draw enough water from hydrants. Utility crews struggle to fix broken pipes while water flows through shut-off valves that don't work.
